Apuron was recently the target of criticism over a letter that was distributed by his archdiocese comparing gay rights activism to Islamic terrorism.[1][2]

To date, Apuron has never retracted the statements which include the following: "Islamic fundamentalists clearly understand the damage that homosexual behavior inflicts on a culture. That is why they repress such behavior by death. Their culture is anything but one of self-absorption. It may be brutal at times, but any culture that is able to produce wave after wave of suicide bombers (women as well as men) is a culture that at least knows how to value self-sacrifice."[3][4][5]